WAL 2017 Top 6 Rankings Announcements

April 20th 2017

Arm Wrestlers -

First of all, a huge congratulations and thank you to all for an amazing season of effort and dedication to date. We have reached the date for the Top 6 WAL competitors to punch their tickets to the WAL Championships, but the season continues – CHICAGO IS COMING UP!

On the rankings, let us start by restating that this is a new system that continues to evolve, and though we are having a very successful first season with it, we are still improving it to be more accurate. As we said at the outset, since it is so new, we knew we might need to make adjustments that we feel are logical and common-sense, and/or to rectify anomalies or clear omissions. As promised, these adjustments can be seen below as part of the definitive list.

There are three important clarifications to keep in mind:

1. The rankings does not serve as definitive placements for seedings in Las Vegas. We still have many accomplished international competitors to add to the mix between now and June 29.
2. Top 6 Las Vegas qualification is BY ARM. That means that if you are top six on one arm but not the other, you still must go to Chicago to qualify that other arm.3. Everyone must have two events at their weight before Las Vegas – and there are several Top 6 pullers who still need another event. Make sure you get two!

While there is still work to be done on the system, know that we are working to develop the very best ranking system in all of professional sports. We thank you for your patience as we strive to improve it. In the meantime, we appreciate everyone who has called in to help point out inconsistencies and problem areas, which we were then able to address – we want to be as open and clear about it as we can.

Congratulations to the following competitors who have cleared through to the 2017 Championships in Las Vegas!

Adjustment: We are adding Tom Nelson to this list due to his performance at the WAL Western Classic, where he defeated top contenders in this class to warrant advancement. Wins over, Hoffman, Woelfel, Fokkakis and Chandler place him in top-tier territory, and extenuating circumstances limit his ability to contend before 2017 Championships.

Adjustment: With confirmation that Paul Talbott currently does not plan to compete in this class for the remainder of the season, we award his spot to Grant Bundy, who is only one point behind Sam Harris in the #7 spot. Further, with only one tournament under his belt in 2017, we believe Ezzy Worden’s rank is potentially a system-based elevation. To compensate, we will open a second spot for #8 George Whitfield. Finally, we have removed Luke Kindt from the Rankings due to a breach of the WAL personal conduct policy and subsequent suspension. That spot goes to the next person in line, Ray Hennerichs.

Adjustments: As with his left, Tom Nelson defeated top talent in Los Angeles (Woelfel, Runkle, Fokakis and Merritt) to warrant placement higher than his rank suggests. Additionally, due to a tie for 5th and 6th on the rankings, an uncharacteristically large one-tournament rise for Chris Chandler and uncertainty over his true ratin number due a win by forfeiture in Los Angeles, there is enough lack of clarity for the two pullers behind him, BJ Fokakis and Robby Burnett, who are very close in points totals, to be granted bids to Las Vegas.

Adjustment: As Worden’s position on the list might be slightly off due to a system-based anomaly, and Talbott currently does not plan to pull in this class for the remainder of this season, two spots open up here. Next in line are Brian Malek and Allen Fisher, however, Fisher also confirms he will not compete in Las Vegas. That would have opened up a spot for #9, Luke Kindt, but due to his suspension, Kindt is not granted the spot, which passes to Randy Louvie.